


Rekindled

by Sketchup



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Arcanaverse, Emotional Sex, Intimacy, Love, M/NB, Non-binary character, OCxOC - Freeform, Original Character(s), Other, Sex, The Arcana Next Generation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:53:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24765727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sketchup/pseuds/Sketchup
Summary: As the Winter Ball ends, Advieh and Felix are reluctant to part after an emotionally-charged reunion...so they decide to reunite in other ways.(The follow-up to "Winter Refrain".)
Relationships: Advieh Satrinava/Felix Devorak, Advieh/Felix
Kudos: 7





	Rekindled

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LazyVoyager](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyVoyager/gifts).



After their emotionally-charged reunion, neither Advieh nor Felix had any inclination to re-join the party. Instead, they wandered the enchanting palace gardens, noticing not a single detail as they steeped themselves in one another’s presence. As if they couldn’t bear to be apart again, their eyes stayed glued to each other--picking up each forgotten or fondly-remembered quirk, tick, and facial detail. Freckles. Piercings. Anything that had changed or stayed the same.

Felix took off his cape and draped it over Ad’s shoulders, which Ad allowed--not because they were cold, but because being engulfed in the familiar smell of him made their heart flip in their chest. For his part, Felix seemed distracted by the fact that their hair was up instead of down. His fingers--curled over Ad’s shoulders, or stroking their back; always touching, always connected--kept reaching for it, as if the muscles remembered that gesture.

And they  _ talked _ . They talked like people starved for the sound of another voice. They talked about anything and everything they could think of. Advieh was sure, after that walk through the garden, they had spoken more words with him than they’d spoken in the entire two years previous. Some of those things were old stories; and yet, as if there was an unspoken agreement, the two mostly stuck to events that happened since they last met. Felix had all new adventures at sea; harrowing scrapes and fantastical run-ins that Ad could scarcely believe, and yet they absolutely did. And Felix listened with rapt attention as Ad listed the new community improvement measures they had spent the year devising and passing, despite opposition from the courtiers and uncertainty from the advisors. 

Sometimes Advieh had to stop and explain something in a story to Felix, who wouldn’t remember. Those moments had soft, sad echoes in them--small reminders that there was now an imbalance, that Felix didn’t know things that Ad did. But they patiently answered, and then the moment would pass again, and it wasn’t so bad. At least he seemed to have no trouble remembering his time working at the palace, or the other people who lived there. Advieh was glad not to have to explain court politics. It was a  _ party _ , after all.

They talked and talked as the large moon rose to its zenith and then began to fade away again, soft tendrils of light blue light bleeding into the deep midnight-black of night.

By the time brighter color was seeping into the sky, and the ball had long since ended, they found themselves standing together on a balcony over the gardens, still interwoven and reluctant to part.

“I can’t believe it’s already morning,” Felix said, at the end of a small break of comfortable silence as they were watching the sunrise. “But I guess a few hours isn’t much to summarize such a long time.”

Advieh made a noise of agreement, somewhere between a content cat and a small yawn. Their mind was tired, but there was still the tiniest niggling of fear that if Felix left their sight now, he would disappear again, never to return. They bit their lip. Then they looked up, not quite meeting his eye.

“Do you...want to stay? With me,” they clarified before he could say anything, “in my room.”

They felt their cheeks warm under the attention, Felix’s eyes widening. His face searched theirs, seemingly calm...but under their hand, they felt his heartbeat stir.

“...Are you sure?”

There was no hesitation, even for a moment, as Ad’s eyes flashed golden in the half-lit morning.

“...I’m sure. Come to bed with me, Felix.”

Pinks and oranges tinted the light that came through the windows, just as Ad flicked a finger and sent the curtains falling, returning their room back to comfortable dark. They’d already carefully folded Felix’s cape and placed it on their boudoir, and were now setting their earrings down on the bedside table. 

The whole while, they were watching Felix quietly, taking in his response. He would look at things with interest, then a quizzical expression would cross his face. He seemed to know where things should be, then would blink in confusion as he tried to line those instincts up with his missing memories. It looked hard, and it made Ad’s chest tighten in concern. Before, they might have tried to bottle up that emotion, but they were committed to being open for a change. 

And so, maybe especially today, it was easier to walk over and slip their arms around him from behind, their chin falling on his shoulder.

“Is everything okay?”  _ What a silly question to ask _ . “It must be hard, being here again. Things you think you should remember, but you can’t.”

“Was it that obvious?” Felix sighed, but relaxed into their touch. “It’s just...weird. I can remember this room. I can remember being here. I remember sleeping on this bed a hundred times. I remember coming here when...when my birth father came to Vesuvia, to find me. I was upset, and I came here to feel better. But...I can’t remember you. I don’t remember you being here with me. It frustrates me.” Sadness, one of those rare Felix emotions, now rolled off of him. “I want to remember so badly.” In a helpless gesture, he scrubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. 

“I just feel...sorry,” he finished, on a tired sigh.

Slipping around him, Ad gave him a proper hug, their cheek resting on the silk fabric of his doublet. 

“We can make those memories again,” they said softly, then lifted their head to kiss his cheek. His eyes followed, and the sadness faded a little.

“Promise?”

They chuckled. Gods, it was nice to laugh again. How was it that they never laughed when Felix wasn’t around, and yet didn’t notice until they were with him again? What kind of magic was that?

“I promise.” They kissed him again, this time both corners of his mouth. His scar. And then, ever so gently, a slow and sweet kiss to the lips. He always tasted a little bit like sea salt--the taste of adventures and stories. Of far-away places. Of a sailor returned. And of course there was bread--the domestic smell of cooking, and of a cozy hearth with a warm fire. Advieh’s mind imagined all of those things as they kissed him, arms curled through his, finally feeling grounded after so long adrift.

It was a chaste kiss as kissing went, but both parties felt drunk off of it as they parted. Felix, Ad saw with no little amount of cat-with-cream pleasure, was looking quite ruddy around the neck and ears.  _ I can make you blush too, _ they thought with a thrill, but the pure adoration they felt for him in that moment overwhelmed the desire to tease.

“You…What if someone comes in?” he asked, bemused.

“I locked the door. With magic. Nobody will interrupt us.” Ad bit their lip, then turned around pointedly. “Can you help with the pins?”

There was no mistaking the gleam in his eye, reflected by their standing mirror.

“It would absolutely be my pleasure.”

It took some time to free the mountain of hair that had been intricately designed and plaited, but it was enjoyable work, and the quiet intimacy helped both of them to calm down. However, having Felix’s hands brushing through their hair--and occasionally on their neck and back--was sending shivers through them that were decidedly  _ not _ calming. When he pulled out the last pin with finality, they spared no time turning to push him onto the bed, mountains of blue-velvet dress still between them, Advieh’s hair now loose and trailing in red rivulets all across the duvet.

“Why do I feel like our roles are reversed here...?” Felix asked, his voice a reverent whisper. He couldn’t seem to help himself as one hand gathered a fist of scarlet strands, running his fingers through it like water.

“Maybe a little. Mm...maybe you were right. Is this...is it too soon? Am I pressuring you?” Suddenly, Ad was wracked by doubts. It was hard, they realized, being with someone whom they were so familiar with, but who didn’t know them. Immediately regretting their decision, they pulled back, but before they could stand Felix had snagged their hand.

“No, it’s not that. I...this is…” he struggled for words. They were both feeling a bit unsure of their footing right then, it seemed. “As long as you’re all right. I don’t want to move too fast for you. I’ve been...I’ve dreamed about this. With you. And it’s hard sometimes, not knowing if something is a memory, or just...wishful thinking.” He let out an embarrassed chuckle, which had a small smile ghosting Ad’s lips. Felix brought his other hand up to tuck a stray piece of hair behind their ear. “But you don’t feel like a stranger. This feels right. Like...I’m finally back where I’m supposed to be.”

“Well, I’m here now. I can tell you which is which. But...none of them have to be just dreams.” More slowly, but without hesitation now, Ad purposefully straddled him again, painstakingly undoing the buttons of his vest and slipping it off. Then, equally teasing, they began to peel off their own outer dress layer, eyes narrowed with both desire and control. Below was a corset and petticoat, which they couldn’t wait to be rid of. “Could you give me a hand? Masquerades and balls always remind me why I prefer to dress loosely.”

“Are you going to let me up?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow, “Although the show has been great so far.”

“I suppose.”

They threw their dress to the floor, with much less care than they had afforded Felix’s cloak, and brushed aside their hair so that he could finally release them from their brocade prison. He gave a low noise of approval, deep in his throat, that once again had all the blood rushing every-which-way in Ad’s body. Despite his large hands, he didn’t fumble with the stays, and instead had them quickly loosened...although at one point he paused, and Ad had to turn and look back, curious.

“What is it?”

“Did we make out on a counter, once…?” That caught them off guard, and as the memory rose up, despite the current situation, they couldn’t help but flush.

“You remember that?”

“A bit. I guess it made a strong impression. Countertops are  _ great _ .”

“Ugh. Of  _ course _ you would remember  _ that _ . Oof!” 

Felix suddenly yanked back on the stays in his hands, sending Ad stumbling into his arms. They barely had a moment to register the move when his lips were blazing a trail from shoulder to neck; one calloused and scarred hand brushing aside their hair for better access, the other plunging into the half-off corset and caressing the warm skin it found there.

“You sound embarrassed,” he breathed in their ear. Ad’s voice hitched and stalled.

“Gods. This is like the first time all over again. You always make me feel like this.”

“Like what? Tell me. I don’t remember,” he demanded in a silky tone. His tongue traced their ear, with just the smallest hint of a nibble. Ad felt themself jerk, growing hotter and harder.

“Like...I just can’t... _ think... _ when you’re around. Ahhh--”

“You haven’t felt like that since then?” Felix whispered, but this time his mouth had stopped moving, and his roving hands stilled. “It’s okay if you--”

“No, I haven’t.” Maybe saying that would have been awkward, once. But it was the truth. “Have you?” They lifted a hand backwards, caressing his head. The answer didn’t even matter, not really. It wouldn’t have changed anything. And yet hearing it was like a flower blooming in their chest.

“No. I never even thought about it. All I could think about was you.” Now, almost shyly, Felix turned to their palm and placed a kiss on it.

Ad couldn’t help giggling.

“Ha ha. Gods, we’re so sappy. Is this too sappy?” But the giddy happiness radiating from that offhanded question was too brilliant to be anything but pure joy.

“Never. I think I rather enjoy sappy.” And then he pulled their still-laughing mouth to his, crushing their lips together and turning their laughter to other expressions of love.

What followed was a rediscovering. Feather-light touches, gentle exploration, the rustle of clothes as they were discarded and laid both figures bare. Advieh couldn’t help playing with Felix’s new, longer hair--something he seemed to like, if the flash in his eyes was any indication. But they didn’t have much time before they were too distracted by his intense scrutiny--he dedicated himself to every part of them like a devoted scholar to a precious text. While he had always been an attentive lover, this experience felt new; a rediscovering in every sense of the word. 

Then there wasn’t much to do but succumb, and lay awash in the sensations he brought out of them. Ad felt the sweetest agony as Felix’s fingers found them; their deftness not forgotten, nor decreased. There was an element of exploration, and yet even here his body seemed to know what it was doing--his motions were sure as he rocked one finger inside them, and then two, the rhythm increasing with their heartbeat and in tandem with their panted breaths. All the while he watched them, hawklike, savoring every hitch of air, using it to influence his next move. This was the absolute knowledge of intimate lovers that they thought forgotten, and yet here it showed itself again. Advieh made no attempts to stifle their cries as Felix forced them to peak with precise glee, then smothered them with kisses and stole their breath as he mercilessly drove them back up a second time. This time, when the orgasm broke, Ad could see nothing but stars as their body violently jerked and trembled, and they clung desperately to Felix for dear life, unable to do anything but weather the explosive storm.

Sweat already pooled on both of them, blankets kicked aside and discarded. Felix slid down their slick body with little resistance, finding a well-manicured patch of red surrounding Ad’s member. As they weakly gripped his hair in their fist, he gave it a few testing nips with his teeth, before enthusiastically taking it into his mouth to a chorus of fevered groans. 

“Gods. Ah. Fuck, Felix. Fuck. I can’t...I can’t come again, I need….ahhhhhh, ah, fuck fuck fuck--” Despite what they said, their body had other plans, and they swelled again against the inside of his mouth, the warm wet of it inviting, his tongue lapping eager, measured circles around them interspersed with the scrape of teeth. It was titillating. It was maddening. Ad felt the building pressure again, scrambling for purchase, handfuls of sheets gripped so they wouldn’t go flying into space as they screamed again, legs locking around Felix’s neck and urging him further on.

_ All this _ , Ad thought again several minutes later when the ability to form rational thought returned,  _ and he hasn’t even been inside me yet _ . They wanted to do something for him, but every time they tried, Felix merely re-directed their efforts and then distracted them with his own ministrations. It was as frustrating as it was pleasurable.

“Let me--” they tried again, but were cut off by Felix’s insistent mouth finding theirs. His tongue slipped inside, once again stealing any retort or request they might have had as his fingers found Ad’s nipples, quickly hard and at-attention. Their whole body shivered; with anticipation or shock or excitement, it was all too hard to separate the pieces of pleasure.

“Later,” he said simply before tugging at one with his teeth. “I’m going to love you so well this time that there’s no way I can forget again.”

Emotions crested through Advieh, mixing with the constant physical stimulation to put them on an incredible high. So they simply gave themself over to him, murmuring words of adoration and the occasional mindless cry of release, utterly out of control of their own body. They were a horse, and they had given Felix the reins, allowing him to ride them as he pleased before leaving them shuddering and wet with exhaustion.

Finally, after what felt like a hundred years and yet nothing at all, Felix grabbed their hips, pulled them close, and with agonizing tenderness, entered where they had been begging him to go all along.  _ At last _ , they thought deliriously, as Felix filled them completely. His body covered theirs, no air between, as close and connected as two people were capable of being. For a moment, neither of them moved; they simply savored that feeling of oneness, amazed that after everything they’d been through, this sensation was still there to greet them. 

“Gods, Ad, you’re beautiful.” Felix breathed into their hair, somewhere to their left. Then Ad did sense a shift, as Felix lifted himself to his elbows and gently turned their face to his.

“What’s the matter? Does it hurt?” he asked softly, dropping kisses on their cheek and eyes. When Ad leaned up to kiss his lips, they found them salty with tears.  _ Ah. That’s what he meant. _ They shook their head.

“Not at all. Don’t stop. Gods, don’t stop.”

They watched one another with fascination. As Felix’s hips worked, and his sailor-muscles flexed. As Ad’s toned, freckled legs wrapped around those muscles, and as they opened up to him. It had been a while, but with all of the earlier work, Ad had little trouble taking him in. They fit together, as they always had, as they were always meant to. Felix let out a groan into the crook of Ad’s neck, his breath wet, the slapping sound of flesh against flesh ramping up. Advieh couldn’t help the moans that came, harder and faster, as Felix’s pace knocked the air out of their lungs. They raked their nails over his back, calling his name in every desperate way they could manage, swamped with love again and again when he called theirs in return.

As the climax approached, Ad took his face in their hands, their foreheads together and their pants mixed. There was one, extreme thrust. Then another. And then, finally, they were both spent with nothing left to give. Yet even then, neither one of them made a move to go, or to part. Their chests heaved against one another, breath close to sobbing with how urgently they sucked in air, but even then neither was willing to sacrifice this closeness. They felt connected. They felt whole.

“So,” Felix said after a few minutes, when he could manage to find his voice, “do I get the job?”

It took a second--he almost thought they’d fallen asleep--but at last there was an exhausted and confused laugh from beneath him.

“Was that supposed to be...an interview…?”

“I hope so. I was applying for the position of your lover. Also the baking assistant job would be nice to have again, but I think the application for that is a little different.”

Advieh groaned, but there wasn’t much energy left. Their body was an expanse of comfortable numbness, and they could feel themself drifting, content for the first time in so long. They brushed away their hair from their face, unable to even do anything more than that, and reached for Felix’s hands. Their fingers intertwined.

“You’re hired for both. Now please stop talking, before you ruin it.”

They could feel the deep-seated rumble of his chuckle in his chest, and the smile on his lips when he brushed kisses on their cheek. 

And then, at long last, Advieh fell into a sleep that wasn’t plagued by regret. It was warm. And it was soothing.

And it felt like coming home at long, long last.


End file.
